El Sistema Solar

Ever since I was a child I have been fascinated by two things: the sky and rocks. I collect minerals, fossils and rocks for a hobby. When I go to new places I always come loaded with rocks, they are everywhere: my bags, my pockets, my shelves, my drawers... I also love astronomy and I especially love teaching it in Spanish to our third graders: I challenge you to this pre-assessment I created!

More science on acquiring new language

I am still a language learner, whether it is keeping my French and German, learning new things in English or my latest adventure (Mandarin!) I am always learning language. Spanish is my native language, I started French at the age of 5 and German and English at 22. I am at a disadvantage in Mandarin... Or may be learning French at such an early age gave me an advantage for life and made me a "mental juggler"... Read this article.

Day of the Dead

We are currently learning about the Mexican celebration of the Day of Dead. If you want to know more about it click and watch the videos on your right. The National Museum of Mexican Art has an exhibit on the Day of the Dead that runs till December 13th. For more information click here.
Also: the Chicago Children's Museum is currently presenting a special exhibit through March 13, 2011: "Mexico: festival of toys". For information click here.

Hispanic Heritage Month: September 15-October 15

During this Month we celebrate the accomplishments of Hispanics in the United States. A Hispanic or Latino is a person who came, or whose family came, from a Spanish speaking country. Lynn Allen, Director of the Multicultural Center located at Julian Middle School came to Beye School to talk to the students about the cultures of several Spanish speaking countries. On your right you can see some pictures of her visit. The students listened very attentively and had a lot of questions!

The importance of learning a second language!!

Happy Mexican Independence Day!!

İViva Mexico!
We commemorated the 200 anniversary of the Mexican declaration of Independence. Here is a brief history lesson:

Welcome back! Why are we here?

I hope you had a restful summer. My family and I traveled to Spain and Portugal to visit friends and family and to see new places. In case you have not checked it out our District's mission statement defines the compromise of District 97 with our students and community:

"The mission of Oak Park Elementary School District 97, the educational prism through which students realize meaning and purpose in their lives, is to guarantee that each student achieves optimal intellectual growth while developing socially, emotionally, and physically through a system distinguished by

* Exemplary instruction focused on each student
* Commitment to the needs of a diverse population
* Meaningful partnerships with families and the community
* Celebrations of the power of art, music, and language
* Confident students challenged to be educational risk-takers"

As the school year begins I reflect on this and the place that foreign language in elementary school (FLES) holds is our community. What are the benefits of learning a second language at an early age? Let's make of this a discussion, leave me a sticky note:

Verano

I hope you are all having a wonderful summer. Let me know what is you favorite activity during these months by leaving me a sticky note:

Spain won the World Cup!!!!

Soccer, anyone?

Spain will play the World Cup final!!!!!!!!

June 19, Día del Español in Chicago

The Instituto Cervantes (Cultural Center of Spain) is organizing a fiesta for "El día del español". For more information click here.

Video

The 4th and 5th graders LOVED this video made by Sr. Wooly about a student who is asking permission to go to the bathroom... to see what happens click here.

We'll be celebrating Cinco de Mayo!!

Next week the children will be learning about the Cinco de Mayo. It is a festivity that is celebrated more in the US than in Mexico (except in Puebla...). Click here for information about the Cinco de Mayo parade in Chicago. Click here for a short video about the history behind Cinco de Mayo. Then, take the "quiz" on your right...

Ethnic Festival-May 1st

District 97 will be celebrating the Ethnic Festival next Saturday, May 1st. Students from Kindergarten and first grade will be singing La Canción del Sapo. Click here for a video of the song.

Había un sapo, sapo, sapo
que nadaba en el río, río, río,
con su traje verde, verde, verde
se moría de frío, frío, frío.
La señora sapa, sapa, sapa
me contó
que tenía un amigo
que eras tu.

Libros en español

This website provides access to books in Spanish. The catalog is divided by age group, fiction, non fiction, etc It has books in many different languages, including Spanish.

Spring is here!!

La oruga muy hambrienta has visited our class and eaten a lot of our frutas y comidas. Once it turned into a butterfly we followed up with El Autobús Mágico. The children already had the skills to understand the story and answer questions about it.

Libros de David

These books are easy to read and understand. All children, big and small loved them:

More dinosaurios!

Listening is a very important skill when learning a foreign language. 400 million people have Spanish as their native language and I want the children to be familiar not only with my very Spanish-Castillian accent, but with a variety of them. Watching people do things improves comprehension. That is why it is much easier to talk to someone in a foreign language than carry a phone conversation. You need to SEE the other person's actions and gestures and read the situation. That is why I sometimes use DVDs. I do stop the movie a lot to check for comprehension, connect to vocabulary, predict what will happen next and summarize. These are the traits of a good reader (and a good DVD watcher too!).

We have been invaded by dinosaurios!!!!!!

Our classroom has been completely taken over by prehistoric creatures! All sorts of dinosaurs are camping happily while second graders learn about them in Spanish. Some comen carne while others comen plantas. These are usually grandes and silenciosos and tienen cuatro patas. For a preview click on the slide show on your right!

America's Next Top Model from our class!

We have been learning about clothes in our class and the 5th graders have their own ideas about who America's next top model should be! It will come right out of our Spanish class! Look at the link on your right!